May Day or International Workers' Day is observed on May 1 all over the world today to comme the historical struggle and sacrifices of the working people to establish an eight-hour workday.  It’s a public holiday in almost all the countries of the world. Since the industrial Revolution in the shift. 19th centuries in Europe and the US, the workers in mills and factories had been working a long shift. fourteen or even more hours a day.

On May 1st in 1886, inspired by the trade unions, half of the workers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in Chicago went on strike demanding an eight-hour workday Two days workers workers' rally was held near the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and about 6000 work to joined it. The rally was addressed by the labour leaders. They urged the workers to stand together, to go on with their struggle and not to give in to their bosses. Just at this moment, some strikebreakers started leaving the meeting place. The strikers went down the street to bring them back. Suddenly, about 200 policemen attacked them with clubs and revolvers. One striker was killed instantly, five or six others were badly injured.

The events of May 1, 1886 are a reminder that workers will continue to be exploited until they stand up and speak out to gain better working conditions, better pay and better lives.

 Countries of the world rely heavily on petroleum, coal and natural gas for their energy sources. There are two major types of energy sources: renewable and non-renewable. Hydro-carbon or fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy. Reliance on them poses real big problems. First, fossil fuels such as oil, coal, gas, etc, are finite energy resources and the world eventually will run out of them. Secondly, they will become too expensive in the coming decades and too damaging for the environment. Thirdly fossil fuels have direct polluting impacts on earth's environment causing global warming, In contrast renewable energy sources such as, wind and solar energy are constantly and naturally replenished and never run out. Most renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from the sun. Sunlight or solar energy can be used for heating and lighting homes, for generating electricity and for other commercial and industrial uses. The sun's heat drives the wind and this wind energy can be captured with wind turbines to produce electricity. Then the wind and the sun's heat cause water to evaporate. When this water vapour turns into rain or snow and flows downhill into rivers or streams. Its energy can be captured as hydroelectric energy.

Along with the rain and snow, sunlight causes plants to grow. Plants produce biomass which again can be turned into fuels such as firewood, alcohol, etc. identified as bioenergy.

Scientists have identified Hydrogen as another form of renewable energy source. It is the most abundant element in nature. But it does not exist separately as a gas. It is always combined with other elements, such as with oxygen to make water. Hydrogen, separated from another element, can be burned as a fuel to produce electricity.

Our Earth's interior contains molten lava which gives off extreme heat. This heat inside the Earth produces steam and hot water which can be tapped as geothermal energy to produce electricity for heating homes, etc. Ocean energy comes from several sources. Ocean's force of tide and wave can be used to produce energy. The surface of the ocean gets more heat from the sun than the ocean depths. This temperature difference can be used as energy source too.

Choose the correct answer from the following alternatives.

 Heritage is what we inherit from the past, live with them in the present and then pass on to our children or future generation. Our unique source of life and inspiration is our cultural and natural heritage. When we speak of "World Heritage, It indicates places and sites that we got from the past and pass on to the future generation of the entire world.

The 'Shat Gambuj Mosque in Bagerhat is such a heritage. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

Originally, the historic Mosque City was known as 'Khalifatabad'. It is situated at the outskirts of Bagerhat town- not very far from the dense mangrove forest of the Sundarbans. Khalifatabad was a Muslim colony. It was founded by the Turkish general, a saint warrior Ulugh Khan Jahan in the 15th century, The Infrastructure of the city reveals significant technical skills in many mosques as well as early Islamic monuments. Baked bricks are used for the construction of the buildings. The planning of the city is dominated by Islamic architecture and the decorations were a combination of Mughal and Turkish architecture.

Khan Jahan built a network of roads, bridges, public buildings and reservoirs to make the city habitable. There were about 360 mosques in the city. Among them the most remarkable is the multi domed Shat Gambuj Mosque. The mosque is unique in the sense that it has 60 pillars that support the roof, with 77 low height domes. The 4 towers at 4 corners have smaller domes at the top as well. The vast prayer hall has 11 arched doorways on the east and 7 each on the north and south for light and ventilation. It has 7 aisles running along the length of the mosque and 11 deep curves between the slender stone columns. These columns support the curving arches created by the domes. The thickness of the arches is 6 feet and have slightly narrowing hollow and round wall. The west wall in the interior has 11 mihrabs (niche in mosque pointing towards Makkah). These mihrabs are decorated with stonework and terracotta. The floor of the mosque is made of brick Besides being used as a prayer hall. Khan Jahan used the mosque as his court also. Today, it is one of the greatest tourist attractions and one of the best architectural beauties of Bangladesh.

Choose the best answer from the following alternatives

Meherjan lives in a slum on the Sirajganj Town Protection Embankment. Her polythene-roofed shelter looks like a cage. She is nearly 45 but looks more than her age. In front of her shelter, she is trying to make a fire to cook the day's only meal. Her weak hands tremble as she adds some fallen leaves and straw to the fire. The whispering wind from the river Jamuna makes the fire unsteady. The dancing of the flames reminds Meherjan of the turmoil in her life. Not long ago Meherjan had everything family, cultivable land and cattle. The erosion of the Jamuna consumed gradually all her landed 21 property. It finally claimed her last shelter during the last monsoon. It took the river only a day to demolish Meher's house, trees vegetable garden and the bamboo bush. She had a happy family once. Over the years, she lost her husband and her family to diseases that cruel hunger and poverty brought to the family. Now, she is the only one left to live on with the loss and the pain. The greedy Jamuna has shattered her dreams and happiness. There are thousand others waiting to share the same fate like Meherjan. Bangladesh is a land of rivers that affect its people. Erosion is a harsh reality for the people living along, the riverbanks. During each monsoon many more villages are threatened by the roaring rivers like the Jamuna, the Padma and the Meghna. It is estimated that river erosion makes at least 1,00,000 people homeless every year in Bangladesh. In fact, river erosion is one of the main dangers caused by climate change. If we can't take prompt actions to adapt to climate change, there will be thousands of more Meherjans in our towns and villages every year.

Choose the correct answer from the alternatives.